Tessellations

Art 2

Tessellations

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A tessellation of a flat surface is the tiling of a plane using one or more geometric shapes, called tiles, with no overlaps and no gaps.

Tessellations here mean symmetric designs featuring animals, toasters, persons, etc, which can fit together in repetitive patterns like simple jigsaw puzzles. These fill a surface, usually a 2D plane, without gaps or overlaps. Brick walls, tiled floors, and the honeycomb in bee hives are all tessellations.

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Your Project Option 1: Square or hexagon base

Create a pattern design based on a tessellation.

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Start with creating a tessellation shape using the "translation pattern" (see the steps below). Your tessellation should be a recognizable (not abstract) object - animals, birds, insects, fish, etc.

Pick a starting shape - square or hexagon.

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Use your handout to plan and practice your tessellation.

Cut the base shape out of your handout.

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Square or Hexagon Translation:

There are few patterns that you can follow to construct a tessellation.

The basic one is "translation" pattern - where you attach the cut out pieces to an opposite side of your shape.

After you sketched the shape - cut out the pieces.

Do not ever throw away any cutouts! They should be attached to the opposite sides.

Slide down the top piece and tape it to the bottom side of the square.

Slide the left cutout to the right side of the square and tape it.

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Square or Hexagon Rotation design:

This is an example of a more complex tessellation pattern - "rotation" template.

Instead of sliding a cutout to an opposite side - you rotate it.

Again do not throw away anything you cut out. Pivot the pieces and tape them into place.

When you trace it, you will rotate your template. The pieces will appear to spin around each other.

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• Trace your tessellation onto a drawing paper. Fill the page with your interlocked design.
• Draw the details inside each tessellation.
• Each shape should be different inside - use different color schemes, designs, details, etc.
• Apply the coloring technique that would incorporate different shades of a color, color gradations, blending the colors.
• Color using a circular motion and short strokes, craftsmanship matters.

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Examples:

Your project Challenge option:

• On your equilateral triangle, draw half of a face or creature on each side.
• fill in the in between spaces with more parts of each creature.

Bilateral Symmetry

Radial balance occurs when all the elements radiate out from a central point and the visual weight is distributed equally. Radial balance creates a strong focal point in the center of the design. Clock faces and daisies are examples of radial balance.

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Tips for triangles

• If its on a side of a triangle it has to be half of something with bilateral symmetry.
• If you have empty space in the center of your triangle make it something.
• The things do not have to have a theme.
• Flowers can work well on the corners of your triangle.

Set up your Paper

• find the center of the paper using a ruler
• draw a horizontal line across the paper through the centerpoint
• use your Triangle as a template, place one point on the center dot and the side of a triangle along the line. Trace it.
• Place the triangle again with pointon the center dot and the side along the side of the first one you drew and trace it again.
• Continue around until all 6 triangles make a hexagon.
• Turn the triangle so the edge and corners line up to one side of the hexagon and trace again.
• Keep turning and tracing until you have a hexagon about the size of your paper..

Creating your tessellation:

• place your triangle on one of the center triangles on your hexagon.
• draw in the missing halves of one face in the adjoining triangle
• flipping your triangle to act as a guide to make sure the lines match up, draw each missing half face
• continue around the center hexagon until all 6 are duplicates alternating with mirror images of your triangle

Keep going!

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Finishing

• Color neatly with colored pencil
• Outline with pen or marker.

Student Examples

Digital art option:

Use Kleki - Paint Tool, GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program , Pixlr.com: Photo editor online, or similar software.

Start with a basic shape: square, hexagon, or triangle. Using the same techniques of cutting a shape out of one side and moving it to another, create your stencil.

Copy and paste your stencil, moving and rotating as needed to create your tessellation.

Add color and details to each tile.

Save your finished work as a jpg file and upload it to artsonia .

Grading:

• Project is finished
• Complexity of the tessellation shape
• Shape is recognizable
• Details inside each tessellation
• Creativity and originality of the tessellation
• Coloring technique:
• blending colors
• small strokes
• paper is not seen through shading
• variety of colors
• tessellation looks 3-D, not flat

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